The Impact of Disability on Intimate Partner Violence Experienced by Saudi Married Women in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Experiencing a disability in human functioning and intimate partner violence (IPV) have both been recognized as critical impediments to the human well-being of women around the world, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). However, although some research exists on disability and IPV separately, no previous study has examined the connection between these two impediments in the KSA. This study investigates two research areas: (1) whether there is a significant association between the level of disability and IPV in adult Saudi married women in the KSA, receiving help from Family Protection Organizations (FPOs ), and (2) whether married women with disabilities (MWWD) compared to married women without disabilities (MWWOD), significantly differ in their level of IPV. Based on prior research, the study controls the possible influence of women’s and their husbands’ age, education, and household income. The study is supported by feminist theory, as women’s experiences with disability and IPV are culturally embedded in KSA’s struggles of marginalization of women. The study defines disability based on difficulties in human functioning related to physical components (with vision, hearing, cognition, communication, self-care, upper body function, and mobility), and emotional components (with anxiety and depression). This definition was developed by the Washington Group on disability statistics in the U.S. It has also been recognized internationally and used by the KSA to collect data on population disability levels in 2017. In the study, disability is operationally examined as a total summated score and as physical and emotional disability components. This study defines and examines IPV as consisting of four different forms of violence (emotional, physical, and sexual violence, and controlling behaviors) and total summated violence. The IPV behaviors are measured by a standardized questionnaire of the World Health Organization’s Violence Against Women Instrument (WHO VAWI) that has been used in KSA. Methodologically, the study applies a cross-sectional non-experimental correlational research design, with a purposive sample of 100 recruited Saudi-born adult (age 18 years or older) married women receiving services from one of three FPOs in Jeddah, KSA. The study research ethics were approved by the Institutional Review Board at The Catholic University of America. All data were anonymously provided through a structured paper and pencil survey questionnaire by consented adult Saudi married women at FPOs during 2024. The data were analyzed by the SPSS Version 28 statistical software. Descriptive results found that in the recruited sample, 50% of the adult Saudi women had disability (and of these, 70% had mild level and 30% moderate level disability). In addition, in the sample of 100 women, 57% reported mild IPV, 17% had moderate IPV, and 26% had severe to very severe IPV. Out of the four possible types of violence (emotional, physical, sexual, controlling behaviors), 38% of women had at least one type of IPV, and 62% had 2-4 types of IPV. The results of MRA revealed that women’s total disability difficulties significantly, positively, and strongly predicted their level of total IPV, showing that higher total disability scores were significantly correlated with higher scores of total IPV, explaining about 87 % variance in IPV. Binary LR revealed that MWWD were nearly twice as likely to experience moderate to severe IPV compared to MWWOD. Although some of the control variables were implicated in bivariate analyses, none significantly predicted IPV in multivariate analyses. Additionally, the two-factor MRA model of disability revealed that the physical disability total score was a much stronger predictor of IPV, as it accounted for around 74% of the total variance in IPV, whereas emotional disability accounted for only around 13% of total IPV variance; control variables had no effect. Further comparing the mean IPV by disability revealed that MWWD had a significantly higher mean of total IPV when compared to the mean of the total IPV in MWWOD. Similarly, MWWD also had significantly higher mean IPV scores for emotional, physical, and controlling behaviors of IPV when compared to such mean IPV scores of MWWOD. No such difference was found for sexual IPV comparison. Also, none of the control variables had any impact on these analyses. Findings from this study may allow social workers and human rights activists to become more knowledgeable about the challenges facing Saudi MWWD with IPV, as such knowledge may help to establish more effective interventions and protection policies in KSA and create directions for future research. Study limitations and additional practice and policy implications are discussed.